Riding on and around Route 2 - telll me more...

[Seattle Forrest]

On Saturday, I took my bike to Gold Bar, and rode to Skykomish, and then back. Parts of the ride were a bit nerve-wracking, but not like the section from Skykomish to Steven's Pass. Bridges, and sections just after them, had no shoulder, but, otherwise, there was enough room not to get hit, and not enough traffic to take away the pleasure of the ride. Great scenery this time of year!

I'm planning to cover a few more sections, like from Gold Bar to Sultan, and east of the pass. But I'd also like to check out some of the roads that depart from US 2. Years and years and years ago, I camped (in the wrong place) on Beckler River Road. Has anyone been on that? How long is it, and what is the scenery like? Can anybody shed any light on the road that departs from Index? Are there others in the area I should ride? How far east can I go, safely? (I'm on a road bike with 700x23s.)

[Seattle Forrest]

I'm sure somebody's had their road bike up here...? Don't make me ask the hiking forum!

Here are a few more shots, anyway.

[Black wallnut]

Here is what I remember from the many times I've both driven over and 30 and 31 years ago I was part of a relay team for Athlets vs MS where we ran from Bothell to Spokane along 2. East of the pass the sholders become wider and the topography also becomes not as steep. If you were to park at the top and ride down it is beautiful however you'd also have to climb back up. A nice ride might be to Park at Winton near m.p. 84.75 and ride west to the top about m.p. 64.63 and back; roughly 40 miles with about 2000 feet elevation. East of there and into Wenatchee is even more gentle and also nice views of the Wenatchee River through a wild canyon.

[woodway]

Never ridden up there myself. Open Street Map does a reasonable job of at least showing paved vs. unpaved roads (although the data is open source so you have to take it with a grain of salt).

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

[toddles]

Forest, I've been planning on riding to Sultan myself from our condo in Kirkland this summer, and have scoped out the options. A much safer ride is to cross the Snohomish river in Monroe on the Monroe Duvall Road (Hwy 203) and head east on Ben Howard road just across the river. Apart from a substantial hill in the middle, it is fairly flat and far less traveled. Beyond that, yeah I drove up to Skykomish and there are some harrowing spots that requires on road riding with some heavy traffic. I will do this before summer ends.

[Seattle Forrest]

I've learned a few things since posting this.

Beckler River Road is about 6 miles long, the paved section anyway. There's some kind of debris blocking the road at some point, but I'm told you can carry your bike over/around it and continue on.

Index River Road is closed at some point. I don't know if it's worth checking out or not.

Lake Wenatchee is strikingly beautiful, and departs from Route 2 about 15 miles west of Leavenworth.

There's a loop on Old Owen and Ben Howard Road that make Monroe to Sultan a great 25 mile loop. I started a thread with directions for that one a while ago in here.